AWARDS HISTORY 2012-2023


MOST AMAZING GAME AWARD

The Grand Prize of the A MAZE. Awards goes to the most relevant, forward-thinking interactive and playful content. We premiere the best work overall - in terms of art, innovation, music, story and interaction. The prize is dedicated to the masterpiece of the award selection that shows us a path we never walked before.

  • Winner 2023

    • Player Non Player by Jonathan Coryn (FR)
  • Winner 2022

    • Tux and Fanny by Albert Birney and Gabriel Koenig (CA, US)
  • Winner 2021

    • Stilstand by Ida Hartmann & Niila Games (DK)
  • Winner 2020

    • Nightmare Temptation Academy by Lena NW & Costcodreamgurl (US)
  • Winner 2019

    • Kassinn by Huldufugl (IS)
  • Winner 2018

    • Attentat 1942 by Charles University / Czech Academy of Sciences (CZ)
  • Winner 2017

    • Everything by David O’Reilly (US)
  • Winner 2016

    • Cosmic Top Secret by Trine Laier, Mads Lyngvig Jespersen, Lise Saxtrup, Bjørn Svin (DK)
  • Winner 2015

    • Curtain by Llaura McGee (IE)
  • Winner 2014

    • Perfect Woman by Lea Schönfelder (DE) and Peter Lu (US)
  • Winner 2013

    • Spaceteam by Henry Smith (CA)
  • Winner 2012

    • Proteus by Ed Key (UK) and David Kanaga (US)

HUMAN HUMAN MACHINE AWARD

This award goes to the best game that can be played by two or more people in the same room (local multiplayer), and includes some digital element – fully analog games won’t be accepted.

  • Winner 2023

    • The MetaMovie Presents: Alien Rescue by The MetaMovie (US)
  • Winner 2022

    • Okthryssia and Saturnia’s Bureaucratic Adventures by Fantasia Malware (DE)
  • Winner 2021

    • Map to Utopia by Fringe ensemble / Platform theatre (DE)
  • Winner 2020

    • Brave Mouse Cartographer I by common opera (US)
  • Winner 2019

    • Blabyrinth by Sleeping Beast Games (CA)
  • Winner 2018

    • Tuned Out by Shallow Games (US)
  • Winner 2017

    • Word After Word by Jonah Warren (US)
  • Winner 2016

    • Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes by Steel Crate Games, Inc. (CA)
  • Winner 2015

    • Crawl by Powerhoof (AU)
  • Winner 2014

    • Nidhogg by Messhof (US)

LONG FEATURE AWARD

This is the award for complex games and developing virtual reality worlds. Those are the ones, who challenge your life by offering immersive storytelling and much more than 2hrs gameplay.

  • Winner 2023

    • SEASON: A letter to the future by Scavengers Studio (CA)
  • Winner 2022

    • NORCO by Raw Fury / Geography of Robots (US)
  • Winner 2021

    • I Am Dead by Hollow Ponds (UK)
  • Winner 2020

    • Knife Sisters by Transcenders Media (SE)
  • Winner 2019

    • THE LONGING by STUDIO SEUFZ (DE)
  • Winner 2018

    • The Norwood Suite by Cosmo D (US)
  • Winner 2017

    • Orwell by Osmotic Studio (DE)

DIGITAL MOMENT AWARD

Poems, statements, experiments, short experiences – expressions of socio-critical messages, personal or comedic life situations and feelings through an interactive medium. Maybe a sensual mechanic, a toy that gives the player a surprising twist in their experience.

  • Winner 2023

    • Extreme Evolution: Drive to Divinity by Sam Atlas (US)
  • Winner 2022

    • BORE DOME by Goblin Rage (DK)
  • Winner 2021

    • Adventures of HarriHarri by Harold Hejazi (FI)
  • Winner 2020

    • Promesa by Julian Palacios (IT)
  • Winner 2019

    • Consume Me by Jenny Jiao Hsia & AP Thomson (US)
  • Winner 2018

    • Genital Jousting - Story Mode by Free Lives (SA)
  • Winner 2017

    • Everything is going to be OK by Nathalie Lawhead (US)

EXPLORER AWARD

Go, where nobody has gone before! This is the award for all forms of experiences beyond the boundaries of contemporary ways to play or develop games. Here, we are exploring alternative controllers, interactive installations, creative coding experiments, robotics and tech performances, as well as interdisciplinary teams, collaborations with science, makers, engineers, researchers, theater and writers.

  • Winner 2023

    • Lost on Mars by Trey Ramm (US)
  • Winner 2022

    • We Are One by Flat Head Studio (AT)
  • Winner 2021

    • Before Your Eyes by Goodbyeworld Games (US)
  • Winner 2020

    • Cook your way by Enric Granzotto Llagostera (CA))
  • Winner 2019

    • Operation Jane Walk by Leonhard Müllner, Robin Klengel (AT)

AUDIENCE AWARD

The winner will be voted out of the 25 nominees by the public during the course of the festival. Every visitor gets 3 pink dots to vote for their favourite game at A MAZE. / Berlin.

  • Winner 2023

    • Viewfinder by Sad Owl Studios (UK, PH, US, NO, ES, FI)
  • Winner 2022

    • Titanic II: Orchestra for Dying at Sea by Flan Falacci (US)
  • Winner 2021

    • Time Bandit by Joel Jordon (CA)
  • Winner 2020

    • Utopias: Navigating without coordinates by AAA (DE)
  • Winner 2019

    • Sticky Cats by The Bones Brothers (SA)
  • Winner 2018

    • Wobble Garden by Robin Barumgarten (DE)
  • Winner 2017

    • VinylOS by Josef Who? and Jonas Bo! (AT)
  • Winner 2016

    • Genital Jousting: A MAZE. Grand Prize Winning Game by Team Swaffelen (NO/ZA)
  • Winner 2015

    • Line Wobbler by Robin Baumgarten (DE)
  • Winner 2014

    • Choosatron by Jerry Belich (US)

WINGS GENDER DIVERSITY AWARD AWARD

This Award highlights games from women and gender marginalized developers, and awards 2.000€ to the chosen winner. To be considered for this award, games must be made by teams with women or gender marginalized developers in key positions. WINGS is proud to offer funding and opportunities to amplify voices less heard in the games industry.

  • Winner 2023

    • Psychotic Bathtub – The Story of an Escalating Mind. And Ducks. by natsha (CH)
  • Winner 2022

    • A Rejection Story! by Faezeh Khomeyrani (NL)

DISCONTINUED AWARDS:

HUMBLE NEW TALENT AWARD

Outside of the competing nominees, the Humble New Talent Award highlights important new voices in the culture of games. Nominees are chosen by A MAZE. and will not be awarded for one game, but their work and thoughts in general.

  • Winner 2021
    • Colestia (AU) by David Cribbs
  • Winner 2020
    • Studio Oleomingus (IN)
  • Winner 2019
    • Maria Fedotova and Danila Yakovlev from lowpolis (RU)
  • Winner 2018
    • Bahiyya Khan (SA)

COLLIDER AWARD

Mash everything! Foster interdisciplinary productions! This is the award for all forms of experiences created in collaboration with science, makers, engineers, researchers, theater and writers. It also includes alternative controllers, interactive installations and creative coding experiments, robotics and tech performances.

  • Winner 2018
    • fountain by Philipp Stollenmayer (DE)
  • Winner 2017
    • FRU by Through Games (NL)

WTF?! AWARD

The award for games that transport no compromises, reckless art, subversive fun and provoking progression. A MAZE./ is looking for the best glitch, punk, alt.ctrl and art games.

  • Winner 2016
    • Lieve Oma by Florian Veltman (FR)
  • Winner 2015
    • Line Wobbler by Robin Baumgarten (DE)
  • Winner 2014
    • Fjords by Kyle Reimersgartin (US)

OTHER DIMENSIONS AWARD

Quite a number of independent game developers and digital artists are discovering this adventurous technology as a new way of expression. A MAZE. features that passionated evolution and is looking for the total embodiment in the beauty of an other dimension.

  • Winner 2016
    • Diorama No.3 - The Marchland by The Shoebox Diorama (NL)
  • Winner 2015
    • Pixel Ripped by Ana Ribeiro (BR)